


Polaroid

by Kat_Herondale



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Peggy Carter, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Dark Force, F/F, F/M, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Bucky Barnes, Polyamory, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Civil War, Time Travel AU, Zero Matter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-15 07:06:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8046955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Herondale/pseuds/Kat_Herondale
Summary: She supposed it could all be linked to 1918. The year Steve was born and the year his father died, because that’s what started the spark in him. He wanted to be like a man he never knew. He wanted to protect his country and stop the hateful names shouted at Irish immigrants. He wanted to be something he could not be. He was too skinny, too scrawny. But he had heart, a heart full of gold if Bucky had anything to say about it. That was why Bucky fell in love with him. That’s why Peggy did as well. They were both head over heels for this stupid punk who couldn’t keep himself outta trouble. It was only luck that brought them together. It was the war that tore them apart.Then the Zero Matter came along.





	1. Chapter 1

She supposed it could all be linked to 1918. The year Steve was born and the year his father died, because that’s what started the spark in him. He wanted to be like a man he never knew. He wanted to protect his country and stop the hateful names shouted at Irish immigrants. He wanted to be something he could not be. He was too skinny, too scrawny. But he had heart, a heart full of gold if Bucky had anything to say about it. That was why Bucky fell in love with him. That’s why Peggy did as well. They were both head over heels for this stupid punk who couldn’t keep himself outta trouble. It was only luck that brought them together. It was the war that tore them apart.

The hands of time had never been kind to them.

She was the only survivor, forced to keep their secret for all of eternity.

 But now she was dying.

 Peggy Carter had been caught in explosions before, especially during the war. There was no feeling quite like fire swirling up her arms and eating her alive. She had survived them, but, the Zero Matter was different. It burned and pierced her skin in an entirely new way. It was like she was being burned alive and drowning at the same time. She couldn’t even muster up a scream.

She remembered all of the moments leading up to the explosion. She had been trying to save Jason, protect him from a fate like Steve, and then he had merely exploded and took the entire waste facility with him. Peggy was now trapped in a dark hell. Everything was cold and she couldn’t force her body to move. Everything hurt, and even now she couldn’t stop herself from thinking of Steve and Bucky in her final moments.

They had both died before her and now she figured it was merely her turn. However, that wouldn’t keep her from fighting the Zero Matter in any way possible. Jason and Whitney had come back from the brink of death while caught in similar circumstances. That could be her.

The darkness enveloped her once and for all. She was becoming a part of it. The Zero Matter was absorbing her and this was the end…

 

She shot off the lukewarm ground, biting her lip hard to keep from screaming out in pain. She scuttled backwards until she hit a wall. Peggy gasped out in pain as her fingers flew to her face. She could feel something strange pulsing under her skin and causing her body temperature to drop. Peggy tried to steady her breathing. She didn’t know what to do.

Finally, after taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she rolled off the ground and looked around to discover that she was inside a dark alleyway and mostly hidden by a dumpster. There were slight differences in the alley compared to other places; the harsh light that hung above one of the metal doors that led to nearby businesses and traffic that was louder than usual, but Peggy didn’t notice any of those things. Instead, she was too focused on stumbling to her feet and hurrying out of the alley. She had to find Jason, Sousa, and all the others that were inside or near the building that would have been sucked away when everything went to shit.

Peggy darted out of the alleyway, gasping for breath. She leaned up against the wall and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the harsh LA sun. It wasn’t until that moment when it dawned on Peggy that this was a lot worse than simply getting caught in an explosion and having to find her way back to what was left of the garbage facility.

It was like she had stumbled into a completely different world, the buildings were larger and everything had a much more futuristic look than anything she had seen before. Sleek cars whizzed past her with a dizzying effect and the buildings seemed newer and stranger.

Across the street from her was a painting of a man, crudely spray painted on the side of a wall. Long, dark colored hair covered most of the man’s face and it wasn’t until she read, ‘Bucky Barnes: murderer or war prisoner? #arrestbarnes’ that she realized who the art was of.

“That’s been here for a months,” remarked an older boy who wore saggy jeans and a cheap t-shirt. “I pass it every day on my way to work. I can’t say that I really have an opinion on the Winter Solider.”

She must have been near docks, then. Only dock workers could get away with wearing clothing like that.

“What happened to him?” Peggy asked, leaning against the wall to hide the fact that the world was spinning around her.

 “You’re fucking with me,” The boy scoffed. He walked away before Peggy had time to come up with any sort of response.

Everything was so bloody different. But she wasn’t dead, that was the plus side to all of this. The amount of Zero Matter she had been exposed to should have killed her or turned her invisible or anything other than this. Peggy stiffened and set off in the opposite direction of the boy.

All of this seemed so very wrong.

 

To say Peggy Carter was stressed was an understatement.

The amount of people around was overwhelming, though none really paid her any attention. One small child, who wore skin-tight jeans, stared up at Peggy with wide eyes. The family had on a mixture of nice dresses and those awful jeans that even the boy from earlier wore.

There was so many new and different things that she had seen, this was something she had read about in those dime novels Bucky had always kept around, and without it she never would have considered the possibility… But all of this was too absurd to believe a cheap book. This couldn’t be time travel or anything of the like, this was a prank Howard was pulling. Soon he would jump out from behind those trees and laugh at her distress.

Except she knew that wasn’t the truth. The longer she walked, the more hopeless she felt.

Peggy had been wandering around LA for what seemed like hours. The sun was setting and she was so woozy that her legs had nearly given out on her several times. She had a growing suspicion that she was in the future, but she didn’t want to accept that because it would mean that she was completely alone and trapped. She would need connections to make it back home and nobody would believe a woman whose suit was torn in several different places and looked like she had slept in a dump.

She felt like she had circled the entire city over twenty times. She had certainly gained a new dislike of all the god-awful trees that seemed to be everywhere.

Peggy picked the most crowded building; one with cars parked in the streets and lights that seemed so much brighter than she was used to, and slid inside of it. Despite the number of people inside, everything was mostly silent. It took her a moment to realize that she had stumbled onto a funeral. There was a picture propped up against the wall.

It was of her. The picture of her that Steve kept in his compass and the public should have never seen.

‘Director Margaret ‘Peggy’ Elizabeth Carter 1921-2016’

She had died. She was dead and lived a bloody long time.

 Which meant that the year was 2016? This didn’t seem right. This couldn’t be real. This must have been some sort of elaborate prank Howard was pulling. She was about to storm out of the room and demand answers to whoever was at the front desk.

She knew people could see her from the strange looks she’s been given, which meant she wasn’t a ghost and—Steve Rogers walked onto the tiny stage. Dressed to the nines and he looked nearly as upset as when Bucky died.

“I’ve been asked to speak at Margret Carter’s one year memorial service. I only knew her for a few short years, but she’s made a lasting impression on my life as well as millions of others.”

Steve kept talking, speech that was more fluff than anything of real substance, but Peggy couldn’t focus on that. Then somebody interrupted her thoughts by grabbing her arm. Peggy spun around, fully preparing to sock the small woman.

“Are you one of the grandkids? You look just like her.”

Wordlessly, Peggy nodded her head and let the woman titter softly over her appearance and smear her already ruined makeup.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, but you needn’t cry over your grandma. She’s in a better place now.”

“Of course,” Peggy said and in her panic she used an American accent. The woman didn’t seem to find anything strange about it. Instead, she led Peggy all the way up to the front row just as Steve’s speech was finishing.

She caught Steve’s eye. For just a moment, Steve fumbled before quickly wrapping it up and hurrying to squeeze into the small space next to her on the bench. Steve reached out and grabbed her hand before whispering just loud enough for people a few rows around them to hear.

“Peggy?” The words fell out of Steve’s mouth.

Peggy looked away, in complete shock. Somebody else came on the stage and spared Peggy from having to come up with a response to Steve. She could feel Steve glancing at her every couple of seconds. She would have gotten annoyed with all that staring, but she was doing the same thing. This couldn’t be Steve. He had died two years ago. But this Wannabe-Steve looked and sounded so much like the Steve she knew.

It wasn’t until Steve was escorting her to a back alley after it ended that everything hit her.

“Peggy,” Steve said, completely losing his calm demeanor as his voice rose ever so slightly. “You’re late.”

This was one of the few times in her life that she didn’t know what to say. This is something she never would have expected. She took a step away from Steve.

There was a noise, some tin can rustling in the entry of the alley. She glanced up for a moment, but didn’t see anybody there, everything was hidden by shadows. Quickly, her focus returned to Steve and that strange, longing expression he wore.

Steve’s hand rose to cup Peggy’s face, lightly gliding along her jaw line. He stared at her. Steve then pulled away suddenly and ran a hand through his hair as he turned away to walk towards a motorcycle.

“Steve,” Peggy hissed. “What the hell is all of this?”

“What’s the last date you remember?”

“The 16th of July, 1947.”

During Steve’s pause, Peggy watched his every move. He moved around with a certain grace, treading more lightly than he ever had before. Earlier, he had rolled back his shoulders and confidently managed to force his way through the crowd of people leaving her funeral. He was aware of his size now. But despite all this, in these few moments she’s had with him, he still seemed like the same old Steve she had always known.

Then Steve wrapped his arms around her, fingers brushing over the scar on her shoulder, as he pressed his lips against hers in the same kind of urgency that had mirrored their last. Before she knew it, Steve pulled away and seemed to be searching her face for something.

“Christ,” Peggy said. “Nobody could fake your…unique style of kissing.”

“Are you saying I’m a bad kisser?” Steve smiled in the darkness.

“Your words, not mine.”

He laughed. It was warm and beautiful and everything she remembered.

“We need to figure out how you’re here. Will you come with me?”

She slid on the motorcycle behind him. She needed answers and he was her only hope.


	2. Chapter 2

The LA lights whirled by her as they went through the city. Steve would take back routes, trying to avoid being stopped at any lights. Peggy tried to memorize the way they went, but by this point she was so disoriented that she doubted there’d be any way she could find her way back to the place she first appeared.

After what felt like forever, as she clung onto Steve’s waist as if it would ground her to the present, Steve pulled up to a row of dark buildings. Some of the sections had signs that advertised shops she’d never heard of. They headed to an empty one. Peggy suddenly regretted everything she had done leading up to this moment because it was quite possible that this was some trap and Steve was taking her here to kill her.

The motorcycle’s headlights were killed and Steve quickly parked it next to a large car.

“Want to meet my new team?”

She would certainly hope so since they had already driven all the way out here. She nodded her head in confirmation. Steve grinned and stuck out his hand. She took it and one final glance at the building that was nearly falling apart.

Everything smelled like mold. Despite the LA heat, the entire building still managed to seem damp and slightly cooler. Then Peggy saw the people. Five of them were huddled in a semicircle and seemed to be waiting for Steve. None of them were pleased with him.

“You’ve been gone for hours,” said the only girl. She was young and had a strange accent that Peggy couldn’t quite manage to place.

“Where’s the Chinese food?” demanded one of the men, Peggy couldn’t quite make out what he looked like.

“ _Steve_ ,” said somebody who sounded very much like a mildly panicked Bucky Barnes, “who’s that?”

A flashlight was flicked on and any other complaints vanished when they took a look at her. She shifted, feeling a stinging in her upper arm, but she had bigger things to worry about. The light shone directly into her eyes and she let go of Steve’s hand and crossed her arms over her chest to stare down what she could see of this rag-tag group.

“So,” said the same voice that had asked about food, “Director Carter, did you bring us Chinese food?”

Somebody next to them snorted and then the flashlight was being flipped off and a small lantern turned on instead. Steve hurried over and plopped down on a threadbare sleeping bag. Peggy followed his lead. This was enough to distract her from being called a director.

The same man pulled out a tiny rectangle that lit up his face as he squinted down at it. He then began listing off times and addresses for all the Chinese food in the area. The girl, with flowing brown hair and a guilty look in her eyes, smiled and watched.

“Clint, there’s pizza two doors down.”

He swung his head around to face him. “It’s the principle. Now Cap, you have three minutes to get to the one five minutes away before it closes. Or you can drive across town and have an extra fifteen minutes to place an order.”

Steve gave him a glare that Peggy recognized. It was something he would use on Dugan when he was being particularly outrageous.

Clint kept complaining about his food and eventually the other two guys, Sam and Scott, went off to go get something while Clint pouted. This was all so bizarre. She had a million questions and she doubted Steve could answer the majority of them. But most of all, she desperately wanted to know what this team was for. It was probably some sort of tact mission or stakeout, but this entire setup seemed questionable.

All she was going on was some sort of half kiss. Though, she was fairly certain the gravity of situation would hit her soon. She was stuck in the future and she needed to figure all of this out. First she would eat and try to feel less sick. Then she’d sleep and tomorrow she’d tackle all of this with a fresh mind.

This would work out. She’d solve this problem about being ~~in the future~~ an unknown LA and she’ll get home.

“Peggy needs a change of clothes. Wanda, do you have anything that’d fit her?” Steve asked while they waited. It was enough to jolt her from her thoughts.

Wanda looked at him. She wanted him to explain how Peggy was here, that much was obvious. Steve didn’t volunteer any information and Wanda turned away, picking a small duffle bag off the ground and sorting through clothes. Peggy trailed after Wanda as she led them to a darker side of the store.

“We’re different sizes. I think everything I have will be a little small.” Wanda eyed Peggy’s torn up suit jacket and red blouse underneath. “Your shirt is cute. Where’s it from?”

Peggy recognized Wanda’s attempt to trick information about of her and smiled.

“You’re new to this world of espionage, aren’t you?”

“Not new enough to know you’re dodging my question,” Wanda said. She dug through the bag using little red spurts to see through the contents. Peggy assumed it was some kind of flashlight, though she couldn’t tell if Wanda was holding anything.

“I’m from 1947,” Peggy said. She was aware that the conversation in the other part of the store had stopped. They must have heard her.

“I don’t think I have any shirts that’ll provide enough coverage. Borrow one of Steve’s.” Wanda handed Peggy a small black skirt. Peggy knew it would be too small for her. She’d have to repair her pants instead.

They all ate by torch light. Peggy didn’t say much as the others ate. There was a strange bubbling feeling in her stomach that she tried to tell herself it was only the grease. Then Peggy reached forwards for a final slice of pizza. She glanced down at where Steve’s shirt was sliding up her arm and froze.

There was a long, black cut. She was infected.

\--

Bucky wouldn’t stop staring at her. She wanted to know how he had survived falling and he probably wanted to know how she was here. He sat in the darkest corners of the little store and would write things down in a worn journal.

He was acting so much different than the Bucky she had known. He should have been happy to see her, pouncing off the ground and giving her a hug the moment she walked through that door last night. Instead, he just stared. Peggy brushed it off. She wouldn’t worry about something so trivial.

After only being awake for a few minutes, Wanda called her over to where she was doing her makeup in a cracked store mirror.  She offered to do Peggy’s and quickly began wiping the caked mascara out from under Peggy’s eyes. Then Steve walked over and sat down next to Peggy. He placed his hand over hers and frowned a little bit.

“You’re cold.” A little furrow appeared between Steve’s brows.

Peggy closed her eyes as Wanda instructed and let her began lining them. She flipped her arm over to show Steve the long sliver in her arm. It had been bubbling and burning all night. She was surprised Steve hadn’t noticed sooner since they’d shared a sleeping bag.

“No wonder why you felt different than other people,” Wanda said as she pulled her hand away from Peggy’s face, satisfied with the eyeliner.

Steve didn’t say anything. Instead he took her arm and brushed over the line with his fingers.

 

 

She sat in the back of a van, smashed between Bucky and Steve. The others were scattered in the seats in front. The only one missing was Sam, who was trailing the van a few cars back on Steve’s motorcycle.

None of Steve’s team was talking. Instead they sat in a semi-comfortable silence while the radio played music Peggy never wanted to hear again. Scott was pretending to play the guitar from his position in shotgun. Wanda sat all alone in the middle row and was doodling on some sort of flat device that looked too expensive to be paper.

She was hungry. They hadn't eaten breakfast and at this point it didn't look like they were stopping until lunch or dinner. She wouldn't complain, though. She was lucky enough that they were feeding her without expecting anything in return.

Things were different here, in this future or whatever-it-is. There wasn't any more rationing. That much was obvious by the amount of waste she had seen Steve’s team produce in one meal. Last night Scott had distastefully set down the crusts of his pizza or how Wanda tossed some liquid eyeliner before using the entirety.

Steve adjusted his position, snapping Peggy out of her thoughts. He leaned forwards to pluck a duffle bag from the seat next to Wanda.

“Okay,” Clint said as Steve rummaged around in the bag. “It’s not every day you see a historical figure come back from the dead.”

“Maybe like every other year,” Scott added.

“What’s your deal, man?”

Peggy shook her head and frowned. “Zero Matter. It’s a mostly unknown element that can easily destroy entire towns. I was caught in an explosion of it. Unfortunately, I’ve been infected with it.”

“All I wanted was one peaceful week where we got Chinese food and relaxed. It’s not my fault Sam and Bucky had a problem with egg rolls. All I wanted to do was eat,” Clint groaned.

 “Anything to piss you off,” Bucky said, his voice raspy as the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

Peggy didn’t know what had started this feud about egg rolls, but she didn’t particularly care. Steve ignored them and began tapping a small screen.

“Do we call Tony?” Wanda asked.

“No,” Steve said quickly. “Anything we tell S—Tony about this will go straight to the government. We’d be turning ourselves in.”

Peggy sighed. Steve had most likely done something incredibly stupid that would force an ‘All-American Hero’ to be on the run from the government. She was about to turn on him and demand what he had—

“Brace yourselves!” Clint screamed.

Peggy saw something fly at them from the driver’s side window. Then the van flipped over.

Steve and Bucky both curled their bodies around her, taking the brunt of the impact. She froze. Her face was inches away from Steve.

There was red in the corners of her vision. At first she thought somebody was bleeding and there was blood everywhere. Then she was aware of Wanda moving her hands and the van being flipped right side up.

Steve grabbed a gun, more compact yet bulkier than any she had ever seen, from the duffle bag in front of him.

“Bucky,” Steve was shouting. “Take Peggy and go to our LA rendezvous point. If we aren’t there in three hours, move on to the next location.”

Something that looked very similar to a giant, metal spider ripped off the door. Bucky shoved Peggy beneath the seat before it turned to her.

There was a snapping noise and Bucky was shoving the seat down and practically pulling her over it and outside the door. He slung his backpack over her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glint of silver.

“Facial recognition tech,” Bucky grunted. “Keep your head down.”

 She saw Sam, he was already firing at the robotic creatures, and a pair of wings attached to his back as he took a running start and flew into the air. Bucky had an unyielding grip on her arm and urged her forwards to the motorcycle. He moved impossibly fast as he started the bike and threw them both on it.

She glanced over her shoulder as they took off in the opposite direction. There had to be over a hundred of these spider things. They took to the air and more than one had locked onto Peggy and Bucky. He slid a gun into her hand and without hesitation she fired three shots at the first one before it dropped. Then there was that cloud of red and the rest were being flung into the distance.

Peggy spun back around, maneuvering the backpack so it’s around her shoulders. She ducked her face into Bucky’s shoulders as he drove the wrong way on a congested highway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to post this chapter! My browser hasn't been working very well recently, so I had to find a new one. Also, just a heads up, that the description of this story will probably be changing soon.   
> If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a comment! Thank you so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been trying really hard to post this story and have been having a lot of difficulties and I accidentally deleted the completely edited version. This is an older draft, but the content is pretty much the same. 
> 
> I've been working on this fic since Agent Carter Season 2 started airing and am now currently doing the final edits. This story will end up with around 40,000 words when finished and I'm guessing there will be about 20 chapters. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know! My current goal is to upload 1-3 chapters a week. Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> (Also, if you have any prompt requests with Steve/Bucky/Peggy, please send them my way because I'd love to write them! I can't get enough of these three!)


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